Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Heated Fortress
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“Achoo!”
Eric’s sneeze echoed through the bedroom.
The tip of his nose, peeking out from where he was rolled up tight in the blankets, was frozen bright red.
And this was still early autumn, before the real cold had even set in.
“Ugh... so cold. My lips are gonna chap.”
The mana reflux issue in the mansion had been resolved, but the problem now was the chill seeping through from the mana vein enveloping the entire estate.
On top of that, cold drafts whistled through cracks in the old stone walls, and the floor was an ice slab terrifying to touch barefoot.
Alfred entered, arms full of firewood.
“Young Master. Shall I stoke the fireplace higher? We have plenty of wood.”
“No. It’s fine.”
Eric shook his head and waved him off.
“Fireplaces just heat your face while your back freezes. They dry out the air and make your throat sore. And most importantly...”
He poked one toe out from under the blanket.
The instant it touched the floor, he yanked it back with a yelp.
“The floor’s way too cold. Even with layers of socks, my feet ache so much I can’t sleep.”
To Eric, sleep quality was as vital as life itself.
Tossing and turning from the cold was unacceptable.
“No choice. Time to remodel the floors.”
“Pardon?”
Eric kicked off the covers and leaped out of bed.
“Where’s Torvan?”
In the temporary workshop set up in the mansion’s annex.
Torvan was sketching away excitedly in his oil-stained work clothes.
“Kahaha! If I connect the valve like this, output jumps 30%. I’m a genius!”
The mana engine design—the heart of the magic train.
Eric appeared, blanket draped over him like a cape.
“Torvan.”
“Oh, Young Lord! Take a look at this. The beautiful curves of the engine.”
“Engine on hold for now.”
“...What?”
“Something else first. It’s urgent.”
“Urgent? What could be more important than this? This tech changes the empire’s fate.”
“There is. Something even more important.”
Eric was resolute.
He pulled a sheet of parchment from his pocket and unrolled it.
“What’s this? A squiggly snake drawing?”
“This is called a boiler...”
Eric picked up a pen and began explaining.
“See? It converts high-pressure mana into a heat source. Then uses that heat to boil water, sending hot steam through pipes across the entire mansion floor.”
A technology nonexistent in this world—but one any reincarnated Korean would sorely miss.
Torvan’s jaw dropped wide.
“So... you want to use sacred, powerful mana energy just to heat a room floor?”
“Exactly. Smart guy.”
“You’re insane! It’s mana blasphemy. An insult to mana itself!”
The dwarf’s unexpected pride flared up, but it was all within expectations.
Eric smirked and tossed him a carrot.
“Succeed with this, and we can adapt it for the train engine’s cooling system later.”
“...”
Torvan’s short, stubby ears perked up.
“Plus, I’ll pay you double the engine budget for construction.”
“......”
Torvan stroked his chin beard for a moment.
Then he shot to his feet and grabbed his pen.
“I’ll redraw the blueprints. Let’s secure the pipes right away!”
Technical curiosity and cold hard cash.
Remember this well.
If you end up in an isekai or romance fantasy world...
Two things are all you need to move a dwarf.
And remember this too...
Dwarf racial traits.
Dwarves love making everything sturdy, huge, and overwhelmingly powerful.
And among them, Torvan was an eccentric among eccentrics.
The so-called artisan’s spirit.
What started as simple heating work spiraled completely out of control.
Clang. Claaang. Claaaang!
The mansion had become a massive construction site.
Steel pipes as thick as a grown man’s torso began snaking around the outer walls like veins, and enormous chimneys sprouted on the roof, ready to belch steam.
The basement was a sight to behold.
“Heave-ho, heeeave-ho!”
Workers hauled a gigantic steel structure into place.
Torvan’s machine far surpassed the boiler Eric had proposed.
It was a monster brimming with enough energy to level a city if things went wrong.
“What do you think, Young Lord? A masterpiece with 500% mana efficiency.”
Torvan grinned, thumb up, face smeared with grease.
Eric blankly gazed up at the transformed mansion exterior.
The stately stone manor, oozing romance-fantasy vibes, was gone.
In its place: pipes, gears, and a steam-belching steampunk fortress.
“Whoa. I just wanted it warm...”
A bit much, but oh well.
“Eh... looks badass. No thief’s dumb enough to break in now.”
Eric nodded coolly.
No more freezing winters ahead.
As long as it was warm, what did it matter?
“W-what is that?”
Iris was observing Eric’s mansion from the princess palace balcony through a high-magnification magic telescope.
What she saw was a grotesque fortress.
Pipes blanketing the entire structure, white steam billowing from the chimneys.
“Your Highness, can you see it?”
Captain Werner of the Imperial Magic Engineering Bureau shouted excitedly beside her.
“From the structure, it looks like a device forcing mana extraction from underground and circulating it.”
“A circulation device?”
“Yes. But at that scale, it’s not mere extraction—it’s liquefying and ultra-refining mana to high density. A full mana plant.”
Mana plant.
A strategic facility the empire had only a handful of.
Core bases for processing mana crystals and generating energy.
And he’d built one in his personal mansion—in just days?
‘He’s insane... a total madman.’
Iris’s forehead throbbed again.
“A project like that requires imperial reporting. What was the reason?”
“W-well... it was cold...”
Werner scratched his head as he answered.
“Hah? Cold?”
No way.
Who in the world builds a mana plant just to beat the chill?
“Eric Theodore.”
Iris set down the telescope.
“I’m going. Need to see it myself and sort this out.”
Mansion basement.
All preparations complete.
“Activating!”
Torvan shouted solemnly and yanked the massive lever.
Ruuuumble. Vroooom!
The blast furnace glowed red-hot, emitting a majestic roar as underground mana converted to thermal energy and surged through the pipes threading the mansion.
Hiiiiss!
The sound of hot steam rushing through the conduits.
“Let’s check.”
Eric slipped off his socks and hopped down from the bed.
“...!”
Warm.
Toasty!
Gentle heat welled up from what had been an ice-cold floor.
“Ooooh...”
Nothing like a fireplace that only warmed the air.
This seeped warmth straight to the bones.
The room’s atmosphere turned cozy in seconds.
Eric flung a thick blanket onto the floor and sprawled out spread-eagle.
“Aaaah... this is it. This is civilization.”
His back felt like it was sizzling on a griddle.
Past-life memories flooded back, muscles melting away.
“Alfred.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“I’m not stepping one foot out of this spot today.
Don’t come looking.”
Eric pulled the blanket up to his chin, blissed out.
This was the majesty of K-ondol.
That was when—
Booom.
Princess Iris stormed into the mansion with the Magic Engineering Bureau captain in tow.
“Young Lord Eric, what in the world are you doing?!”
Creeeak.
The mansion door swung open.
Whoosh.
Heat like entering a sauna slammed into them.
Captain Werner’s glasses fogged white in an instant.
“T-this heat—is it mana overload?
Dangerous, Your Highness—withdraw!”
“Close the door. Heat’s escaping.”
Eric’s calm voice drifted from the misty interior.
Lounging casually in a short-sleeved shirt, sprawled on the floor.
“What is all this...”
“Feels nice coming in, right?
Kick off your shoes. Touch the floor.”
“...”
Hot.
The entire floor radiated like one massive stove.
“You’re really burning high-grade mana like this? Just to heat a room?”
Tech waste.
Pure technological flex.
‘A silent boast: Tech like this is just a toy to me.’
Iris stared hard at Eric.
The man lying there all languid.
‘Scary... How deep do his plans go?’
Her whole body trembled.
Seeing it firsthand drove it home again.
Eric had to be hers.
For the empire.
No—for herself.
A pitch-black night where you couldn’t see an inch ahead.
Eric’s mansion alone shone brightly.
White steam from the chimneys caught the magic lantern light, glowing mysteriously.
The hum of machinery and the pulse of mana through pipes.
From afar, it was unmistakably a magitech fortress.
Passing travelers and nearby villagers whispered as they watched.
“Look over there. Eric Young Lord’s place.”
“Rumor says he embedded a dragon heart in the basement.”
“Whoa... check that chimney. Gotta be some cloud-making machine inside.”
Rumors snowballed wildly.
Eric’s mansion was becoming one of the empire’s great mysteries.
“Ahh~ so warm.”
Meanwhile, the fortress’s master stuffed cookies in his mouth and scratched his belly.
Eric gazed out the window with a satisfied smile.
Back warm, belly full.
Time to play big.
“Now... time to make some money.”